The school to which the Deputy refers is currently included in the disadvantaged areas scheme, DAS, and Giving Children an Even Break, GCEB. The disadvantaged areas scheme benefits schools by providing additional capitation grants of €38per capita, concessionary teaching posts, a refund of the television licence fee and eligibility for 95% building grants for building projects. Designated disadvantaged schools are included in the home-school community liaison scheme.
Giving Children an Even Break subsumes the previous process of designation of schools that serve areas of educational disadvantage and my Department's approach is now refined to ensure that individual "at risk" pupils are targeted. Rather than the old method of designating additional schools, under this scheme my Department provides support that is commensurate with the levels of concentration in schools of pupils with characteristics that are associated with educational disadvantage and early school leaving.
Primary schools participating in Giving Children an Even Break are in receipt of a range of additional supports including teacher posts and other non-teaching supports to be targeted at disadvantaged pupils. The additional supports provided reflect the level of concentration of pupils from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds in each school invited to participate in the programme. Schools already in the disadvantage areas scheme retain their existing entitlements. My Department has been engaged in an overall review of its educational disadvantage programmes, with a view to building on what has been achieved to date, adopting a more systematic, targeted and integrated approach and strengthening the capacity of the system to meet the educational needs of disadvantaged children and young people. Any decision to expand or extend any of the initiatives aimed at addressing educational disadvantage is being considered in the context of this review, the outcome of which I hope to announce shortly.
